When I plug them into my Sony mp3, they sound good, but there are very lean on high FQ.

[bla bla bla]

Cymbals sound very silent compared to Alessandro MS1. I expected this (as MS1 are considered bright), but not to this level. As I've listened to them for longer time and became used to this, they sound quite nice. Bass is probably the best thing in them - it's quite easy to hear the bass guitar line, it's smooth, maybe doesn't reach the lowest lows and but also they don't have too big midbass hump. The mids are also smooth, but as I come from MS1, I don't find them superb. I've never heard HP considered to have great soundstage, so I can't say much about it, but I find it nicer than Alessandros. The sounds rarelly come from more than few inches outside of the head ;) but things are happening between ears.

[/bla bla bla]

Ok, now the thing that confused me

When I pluged them into Luxman L230 (amp from 80', as I know) the background noise (already present with my MP3, went up quite much. I played something and... what? they're different. Very. The highs are now the main thing I hear - they're not bad, but the vocals lost the presence and the bass went weak.

I've never heard such change when I swiched MS1 between mp3 and amp. Can someone explain to me what happend? I susspect it has sth to do with the very low impedence of them, but I don't know what.

Now that I plugged them back into sony, I miss the highs, eq'ing helps just a bit.

Cymbals sound very silent compared to Alessandro MS1. I expected this (as MS1 are considered bright), but not to this level. As I've listened to them for longer time and became used to this, they sound quite nice. Bass is probably the best thing in them - it's quite easy to hear the bass guitar line, it's smooth, maybe doesn't reach the lowest lows and but also they don't have too big midbass hump. The mids are also smooth, but as I come from MS1, I don't find them superb. I've never heard HP considered to have great soundstage, so I can't say much about it, but I find it nicer than Alessandros. The sounds rarelly come from more than few inches outside of the head ;) but things are happening between ears.

As a MS1 owner myself, I think what you described is pretty normal to me. What I mean is, if you get really used to Grado'ish sound and think of that as norm, then almost everything else will sound dark to you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lorafenik

Ok, now the thing that confused me

When I pluged them into Luxman L230 (amp from 80', as I know) the background noise (already present with my MP3, went up quite much. I played something and... what? they're different. Very. The highs are now the main thing I hear - they're not bad, but the vocals lost the presence and the bass went weak.

I've never heard such change when I swiched MS1 between mp3 and amp. Can someone explain to me what happend? I susspect it has sth to do with the very low impedence of them, but I don't know what.

Now that I plugged them back into sony, I miss the highs, eq'ing helps just a bit.

Excuse my imperfect English; I hope you understood my question.

Beside impedance, balanced armature IEM (as SHE9850 is) usuaully is very sensitive to background noise and tend to bring it upfront. This is the kind of 'artificial' sound that is the reason of why some people prefer dynamic IEM over balanced armature. It also could be the amp, but it is hard to tell from my end.

Got them last week as my first BA IEM, convinced by ClieOS's review (thanks!).

The included foam tips seem to work best for me. How are these different sound-wise from comply T100 and shure olive? (and from silicones the medium ones are also acceptable)

I must say I am impressed by the speed. But then again, it is my first BA. Bass is pretty good too, on my setup definitely better than k324p. On k324 it is also quite controlled and reasonably extended, but it sounds like a tiny man kicking a tiny exercise ball. On she9850 it is not only better controlled, but also reaches lower, and has some 'meat.'

I guess next time I ask for upgrade advice here I'll ask for IEM for James Brown & Sly Stone :D

I wouldn't call cymbals silent, but I am usually annoyed with what I perceive as overtly loud cymbals, and with she9850 that is definitely not the case. So definitely a plus for me.

First I thought they are overtly warm and keeping the same coloration across records (golden/glassy if that makes any sense). Then I noticed that it was an effect of the upsampling (SSRC in f2k, SRC in cplay) and with SOX they are actually way more balanced. Though the differences between upsamplers are easily audible also on KPP or k324p, they are way greater with she9850. Is this an effect of the low impedance, or BA, or both?

For some real bang for the bucks on the similar level of SQ as SHE9850, try VSONIC R02 Pro II - less bright, bigger bass, better soundstage and has really good cable. It should be around $25 on eBay with free shipping.

so i went ahead and picked these up tonight; am i right to say that they seem to be source dependent?

i used them on my touch 2G and they sounded pretty bad; undetailed bass, veiled mids, and unextended, soft highs.

i plugged them into my laptop and instantly everything livened up; the bass cleared up, the mids were brought forward, and the highs spoke more. i am not running an external dac or amp, just off the virtue of my notebook's motherboard (albeit through as bit-perfect a path as possible). i realize that my laptop is a bit more high powered than an ipod, but i never felt such a massive difference in SQ, even with big cans like a DT990.

these are my first BA headphones; is it because of that, plus the very low impedance of these things? i thought BA and/or low impedance meant less need for amping?

Actually it goes both way. Higher impedance means it needs more voltage but less current, lower impedance means it needs more current and less voltage (i.e. speakers are often 4 or 8 ohm, and required a power amp to drive). .An decent external amp should be able to provide both, so is a good source. 12 ohm is actually quite a low number, but I never felt the need of extra amping. Though I also never used a Touch 2G before.

SHE9850 has more or less a Shure type of sound - something Phonak isn't particularly known for. However, PFE with Black filter might sound close to what you are looking for. It won't be quite as dynamic as SHE9850, but more resolving on the top.